Lock mechanism



A r..i7,-1923. 1,4521% H. H. CLAUSSEN LOCK MECHANISM Filed April 11 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet l .15. Clauss en.

PatentedApr. 17, 1923.

UNITED stares insane PATENT @EFififi.

HERMAN H. CLAUSSEN, OF SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS.

LOCK MECHANISM.

Application filed April 11, 1922. Serial No. 551,456.

doors'of vaults and safes and has as its general object to provide meansffor preventing withdrawal "of the locking bolts, constitut ing a part'of theusual lock mechanism, even should the combination of the mechanism be blown out or otherwisedestroyed. The meth' od of procedure followed by a safe blower is usually to destroy the combination look by explosive or some other destructive agent thereby exposing parts of the lock mechanism which may then bereadily manuipulated to retract the bolts.' Therefore the present invention contemplates the provision of means which while normally inactivewill be automatically rendered active to constitute an auxiliary lock in the event the combination lock is destroyed or displaced, and .rendering it impossible to retract the bolts of the lock mechanism through manipulation of any of the elements of such mechanism which mightunder the stated conditions be exposed.

Another object of the invention is to provide a springless auxiliary lock mechanism such as that above referred to which, While it cannot possibly be actuated operating through the opening uncovered when the combination lock is destroyed, may nevertheless be rendered inactive in a more or less convenient manner by one possessing the required knowledge, andv thus permit the vault or safe door to be opened after an attempt has been made togain access to the vault or safe, j i

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 is a sectional perspective view illustrating. the mechanism embodying the invention and so much of a vault door and the :automatic lock ,mechanismas is necessary for an understanding of the invention;

Figure 2 is ahorizontal sectional view through the mechanism of the invention; and u Figure .3 is a vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 3 3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction indicated by the arrows an d illustrating the manner in which the auxiliary lock mechanism may intentionally be rendered inactive after it has been released through destruction of the combination lock.

In the drawings the numeral 1 indicates in general a vault or safe door which is provided upon its inner face with the usual flange 2 through which the bolt rods 3 of the usual lock mechanism are slidably projected to engage in sockets in the frame of the door. opening. Numeral t indicates the usual connecting frame bar which is secured to associated ones of the bolt rods 3, and the numeral 5 indicates the usual combina tion devices of the lock mechanism. All of these parts may be of the ordinary or any preferred construction, and as previously stated, if the combination lock 5 is destroyed or displaced, some part of the lock mecha nism will be exposed in a manner to permit of its manipulation to retract the bolt rods, means being provided by the present inventlon however for preventing this being done as will now be explained. l

The auxiliary lock mechanism of the present invention is indicated in general by the numeral 6 and comprises a base plate 7 which is fixed in anyv suitable manner and at any convenient point of location upon the inner face of the door 1. Bearing members 8 are mounted upon this plate and rotatably support a shaft 9 which extends at right angles to the length of the adjacent connecting bar 4. At its end adjacent said bar 4:, the shaft 9 is provided with a sul stantially right angularly extending look ing head 10 which is located relatively close to the inner verticaledge of the said connectingbar 4%. The shaft 9 is slidably adjustable as well as rotatable in the bear- 'ings 8, and an adjusting and abutment screw 11 is threaded through a boss 12 upon the plate 7 and is adapted to bear against or constitute an abutment for that end of the shaft which isopposite the end carrying the locking head 10. An adjustable abutment plate 13 is slidably disposed against the face of the plate 7 and secured in positions of adjustment by means of a set screw 14 engaged through a slot 15 therein andi-nto the plate 7. The said plate 13 is provided at one end with an outstanding lip 16 against which the end of the shaft 9 which carries the locking head 10 may abut as shown in Figures 1 and 2 of the secure'the same in such position of adjustment that when the last mentioned end of the shaft 9 is in engagement against the lip 16, and the connecting bar 4 for the bolt rods 3 is in the position which it will assume when the bolt rods are projected to locking position, the edge of connecting bar 4;, next adjacent the said end of the shaft will occupy a plane but slightly spaced from the plane of the adjacent side of the locking head 10, and after this adjustment has been obtained, the screw 11 is rotated until its end will bear lightly against or be located very' close to the'adjacent end of the shaft 9. By reference to Figure 2 it will be observed that the connecting bar 1 is somewhat spaced from the plane of the innei' face ofthe door 1, and it will be evident that when the shaft 9 is rotated to such position that the head 10 will projectvertic'ally,'the said head will be out of the path of movement of the connecting bar 4 in the retractive movement of said bar. 011 the other hand if the shaft 9 is rotated so as to lower or swing the head downwardly to substantially the horizontal position shown in dotted lines in Figures 1 and 3 of the drawings,this head will be directly in the path of the connecting bar 1 and retraction of the barwill be prevented.

In order that the shaft 9 may be normally held in the first mentioned position of ad justment, the shaft is provided at some suitable point in its length with an outwardly projecting pivot lug 17 to which is pivotally connected a weight block 18, the block being freely suspended from the pivot which is indicated by the numeral 19. A wire or small rod 20 is connected at its upper end in any suitable manner as at 21 to the lower end'of the suspended weight block 18, and

I at its lower end as at 22 to the combination mechanism 5, and this element constitutes means, by reason of a proper proportioning of its length, for normally supporting the weight block 18 in the elevated position shown in full lines in Figure 1. When the weight block occupies this position the shaft 9 will be so positioned that the locking head 10 will extend vertically and be sustained out of the path of movement of the connecting bar 4, and so long as the ordinary loch mechanism is manipulated in a proper manner, the auxiliary lock mechanism will be inactive. However if an attempt is made to gain access to the vault or safe by destroying or displacing the combination lock 5,

support will be withdrawn from the weight block 18 thus permitting this block to fall by gravity, and by reason of its weight, its downward movement will result in a rotation of the shaft 9 to lower the locking head 10 to the dot-ted line position shown in the said Figure 1 in which position it willbe'in the path of movement of the connecting bar 4. Thus when the combination lock is destroyed or displaced, the auxiliary lock mechanism will be immediately rendered acor vault in order to gainaccessto the lock mechanism andmake the necessary repairs, the owner of the safe will at the time of purchase be apprised of the 'locatlon of the weight block 18 with relation to one or more edges of the door 1 and may, for the purpose stated, bore through the door at a point- 0pposite the point of location of the said weight block, and by inserting any tool or other implement suitable for the purpose such for example as the drill bit empleyed in boring the opening, may, as illustrated in u e 3, force he ht block 1 n an inward. and upward direction and against the wall of a casing 23 which is secured upon the inner face of the door land extends over the auxiliary lock mechanism. When the Wei ht bloclr is displaced inthis nanner, the shaft 9 will be rotateclto a position to cause the locking head 10 to extend vertically its normal vposition and clear of theconnect ing bar: hand while the parts "are held in this pesitionthe ordinarylock mechansim may be manipulated to retract the bolts.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is: V

1. The combination with a main lock mechanism including a sliiftable bolt .mem% her and a combination device subject to dis placement by violence, an auxiliary lock mechanism comprising a freely rotatable shaft, a locking head' extending therefrom" and angula 'ly movable, in the rntation of the shaft, between aposition out of'the path of movement of the bolt member and a position inlt helpath of movement of 'saidf member, and'means tending to overbalance the shaftand rotate the same to move thelo'ck ing head to locking position and including a sustaining elementconnectedwith the combination device, the i said overbala'ncin g ean om s g a Wei h u pended beyond the shaft, and the said sustaining element comprising a relatively rigid finelnber connected at one end to the said weight and at its other end to the'said combination device. V a y 2. The combination, with main lock mechanism including a shiftable bolt-,member'and a 'combination device subject to ment by violence, of'a n' auxiliary lock mechanism comprising a bearing, a "rotatable shaft freelyshift'ably adjustable in the heari a la k n ee extending ro he shift and angularly niovableffin the rotation'of the shaft, to aposition inando'ut'fofthe path of movement of the bolt member, means tending to overbalance the shaft and rotate the same to move the looking head to locking position, means connected with the combination device normally restraining the over balancing means, and adjustable abutments for the ends of the shaft whereby the looking head may be adjusted with relation to the bolt member.

3. The combination with main lock mechanism including a shiftable bolt member and a combinationdevice subject to displacement by violence, of an auxiliary lock mechanism comprising a bearing, a shaft freely rotatable and freely shiftably adjustable longitudinally in the bearing, a locking head extending from the shaft and angularly movable with the shaft to a position out of the path of movement of the bolt member and to position in the path of movement of the said member, an adjustable abutment for one end of the shaft, an abutment screw for the other end of the shaft adjustable to maintain the shaft in engagement with the first-mentioned abutment, an arm extending laterally from the shaft in the normal position of the shaft and in the inactive position of the head thereon, a weight block plvotally suspended from the said arm and constituting means tending to over-balance the shaft and rotate the same to move the head to active position, and a sustaining element comprising a relatively rigid rod connected at its upper end to the weight and at its lower end to the combination device.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

HERMAN H. CLAUSSEN. [L.S.] 

